Sands of Change
by italk2whales
Summary: Dakota Rose had her dream job and was happy with her life, when two elves show up to bring her back to Middle Earth. How does Dakota deal with the fact she is half-elven. More importantly how does she handle being betrothed to an elf she doesn't know?
1. Chapter 1

Have you ever had one of those days where you felt like someone was watching you? That everywhere you go there is someone walking in your shadow? Well today was defiantly one of those days. And let me tell you, if you haven't felt it before it is one of the creepiest feelings in the world.

When I woke up this morning I had a feeling that there was something different. It made the hairs on the back of my neck stand. I associated the weird feeling with the unseasonably cold weather. It wasn't too often southern Texas was below 60 in the middle of October. Though, for me, it was a welcome relief from the devastating heat of summer. It reminded me of home.

Still rubbing the sleep from my eyes I geared up for my morning run. 2.5 miles at 6 am every morning. You could set your clock to it. The only thing I varied was where I run; sometimes through the streets and sometimes along the bike paths. I tried running three miles one day. Lets just say I'm no cross-country star. It took days for me to stretch out my legs before I could run again.

This morning was different. I could feel eyes watching me as I locked the door to my apartment. For some unknown reason I chose to run the bike trail. I guess I had been hoping that who ever was watching me wouldn't expect that, thus they wouldn't fallow me. I was wrong. The entire time it felt like they were just a step or two behind me. Of course every time I would turn to look, and believe me I did, nothing was there. I had never run so fast in my life. It took a little over half what it normally did to complete the run. I barely had time to notice how lovely the trees looked dressed in their fall colors.

By the time I reached my door my heart was pounding, and my breathing was harsh. I opened and shut the door within seconds. I got a bit of satisfaction from the sound of the deadbolt locking into place. Grabbing an apple from the kitchen counter I made my way to the bathroom, where a deliciously hot shower was waiting.

After my shower I felt refreshed and was hardly bothered by my strange experience this morning. After all who would fallow me while I ran? And who could possibly keep up with me without me knowing?

I yanked a brush through my rapidly drying hair. That was the one thing I liked about my hair, it dried really fast. As I pulled my hair back into a ponytail I gave my appearance a once over. Khakis and green polo: check. Ankle socks and work boots: check. Hair back: check. No wait. Scratch that. I sighed as I saw the small bit of hair at the base of my head that was still too short to be a part of the ponytail. I liked how easy my shorter hair was to care for, but I really hated it when that happened.

Knowing there was nothing I could do about my hair I made my way back to the kitchen. I made my usual breakfast of eggs and toast and sat down with a glass of apple juice. I never did care much more orange. Finishing up my morning meal I happened to glance at the clock on the stove. 6:55. If I left now I could get Starbucks before I had to be at work at 7:30. The thought of caffeine instantly brightened my mood.

With my prize in the form of a white chocolate mocha in hand I made my way into the staff entrance of the zoo. I simply loved my job. Some people find it strange that I get up at the crack of dawn, work the strangest hours, and smelled worse than a barn. Well, what they find strange is that I willingly do it for minimum wage and no benefits. But it was my dream job and I loved it. Well, it was a stepping-stone to my dream job. You see my dream job didn't include working nights and weekends in retail in addition to my forty hours at the zoo. I hadn't had a day off since sophomore year of college. Granted that wasn't too long ago, but it was still a good three years.

After clocking in I immediately settled into food prep. Somewhere between thawing chicken and chopping fish the feeling of being watched returned. It was rather unnerving to say the least. Not wanting to disrupt my routine I continued on with food prep. In no time flat I had five large buckets of fish for the seals and dolphins and a lovely mixture of fish and chicken for the otters. By the time I finished my department co-workers had arrived and were preparing for the morning training sessions.

"Dakota, you have Zeus and Tilly for the morning sessions." My supervisor informed me as he wrote out the schedule for the day.

"Will I get to work with Apollo this afternoon then?" I questioned, a little upset that I wasn't getting to work with my usual dolphin. "I was kind of hoping to be able to finalize the high jump today." I had been making such good progress on that behavior and had been looking forward to finishing it up this morning.

"We'll see. Zeus refused every fluke wave from David yesterday and I want to see if it's a problem with the behavior or with how David is presenting it." He explained. I began flipping through Zeus' behavior log, trying to see if there was anything else I should be looking out for. "If it goes well this morning I don't see why you can't finish up that behavior with Apollo."

"Thanks Brain!" I smiled brightly at the thought.

"My dear sweet Dakota!" an overly sweet voice called out to me from the locker room.

"Yes Tyler?" I sighed, not really in the mood to deal with Tyler's imminent request.

"This is for you my sweetest blossom." He shoved a Starbuck cup in my face.

"Is this a white mocha?" I asked, half excited about my favorite drink and half wary of what he would want in return for the small up of heaven.

"Yes it is."

"No thanks, I already had one this morning." I tried to return the steaming cup back to him. He didn't look too happy to hear that.

"What if I told you I also have a blueberry scone to go with it?" He seemed hopeful that this might interest me enough to hear his proposition. Of course we was right. That boy knew me too well.

"I'd tell you I need to run again during lunch." I quipped, snapping the drink and bag from his hands. "What do you want in return?" I questioned, the coffee scalding my throat in the most delicious way as I took a sip.

"We have a behind the scenes group signed up for today and we want you to do it." He explained.

"That's it? You bribed me with Starbucks for that?" I couldn't believe that was all he wanted. "Of course I'll do it."

"Its an all day program." That simple statement was powerful enough to stop me mid sip. Suddenly my coffee wasn't as enjoyable.

"You have to be kidding me! Brain, what can't we all pitch in?" I brought my supervisor into this conversation. It wasn't that I didn't like the guest interaction programs. Quite the opposite really, I thought they were great. But, I wasn't what you would call and 'people person'. I hated meeting new people. When I first started working at the zoo it took nearly three weeks before I would talk to any of my co-workers above a whisper. Now of course they couldn't get me to shut up if they wanted to.

"No can do." Brain told me. "We have to finish preparations for the potential hurricane next week."

Damn, I had forgotten about that storm. Stupid Hurricane Erma. I knew that my facial expression showed my displeasure with the situation. I never did have much of a poker face.

"Its only two," Brain attempted to sooth my sudden anger, "I think they are British naturalists, or something like that. I think they just want to see how we manage the animals an all that."

The idea that these guys were 'animal people', and potentially intelligent, made me feel slightly better. Maybe this wasn't going to be so bad after all. I mean British accents are very attractive.

"Lets hurry up with the pre-session meeting, they should be here any minute." Brain's word was final.

The rest of the meeting was uneventful. As a means of appeasement Brain was going to let me do a new behavior with Zeus, and practice medical behaviors with Tilly. At least I was going to get something out of this arrangement.

As I was putting the training records away the 'behind the scenes people' arrived. I wasn't sure what I had exactly pictured when Brian told me they were British, but I certainly hadn't expected what walked in. They were both male, with long blonde hair. I was instantly jealous of their hair. Their presence seemed to command attention, the younger looking one having a regal air about him. I couldn't take my eyes off them.

I didn't hear of word of Brain's welcome speech. It was the same every time and I knew it by heart. I just stood there, watching them. I really hope my mouth wasn't open. When Tyler moved to get the buckets for the dolphin session I knew I would be in trouble for not paying attention. I didn't hear what their names were. Shit.

As we walked through the halls to the dolphin exhibit I could feel eyes burning into me. I was suddenly reminded of the same eerie feeling I had this morning on my run and in food prep. Both men were watching me. Intently. For some reason the idea that these guys had been watching me all day began to play in my mind. Mentally shaking my head I dispelled the thought. It was ridiculous. Wasn't it?

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What do you guys think?


	2. Meeting Dolphins and Awkward Questions

"Alright gentlemen if you would stand over by that section of the haul-out," I directed them, using two fingers because one if rude, to where they should stand. "I will have you come closer, if you like, towards the end of the session. The morning session is typically when we check the health and well being of the animals, and make sure they get their breakfast." I explained, whistle already in my mouth.

They said nothing as they moved to the back corner of the haul-out. Brian, Tyler and I made our way to our designated animals' stations. Brain gave the signal and we called the session to start. I always enjoyed the first session of the day. The animals seemed so happy to see you. Zeus popped his head up, mouth open, right at his station. I whistled, threw him a fish and moved on. After giving him half his morning diet and making sure that he was fit as a fiddle I allowed the guests, whose names I still needed to figure out, to come near the drop off next to me.

"When I say the word t-o-u-c-h you can do that." I informed them, not taking my eyes off Zeus'. "But, when I blow the whistle you have take your hands off him."

"Touch!" I called at the same time as I brought my hand to Zeus' back. Before I had the chance to remind them that they could not touch the dolphin two hands appeared next to me. I could see the look of surprise on their faces. I loved this part of the interaction programs. Its one thing for me to tell you how a dolphin's skin feels, but its another thing entirely to feel it for yourself.

"How does he feel?" I asked.

"Like nothing I've ever felt before." The blonde closest to me said in a soft voice. I'm not going to lie, his accent made my heart flutter. "Haldir, how would you describe this? I know not the words." Ok, so I now know two things. First, they speak in proper English. Second the one furthest from me was named Haldir. Interesting.

"Like wet…" Haldir trailed off. He seemed to be at a loss of words.

"Rubber?" I supplied. "That's usually what most people say. Though I did have a lady last month that told me Apollo felt like a wheel of cheese." I laughed. They seemed to be amused by this, as they both smiled at me. If my heart was fluttering when he spoke this boy's smile stopped my heart, for sure. Note to self: watch out for the unnamed man next to me.

"Alright, I'm going to bridge him now." I warned before I whistled. After showing them the various parts of dolphin anatomy and giving a brief rundown of the training process it was time for the session to end.

"I've got two!" Tyler called out from the other end of the tank.

"I'm with you!" I responded.

"Lets end it with this then." Brian announced before bridging Athena and Hermes. In perfect synchrony the three of us delivered our last fish to our dolphins and ended the session.

"Gentlemen this way if you would be so kind." I directed them to follow Brian as I grabbed my bucket.

Once back inside we made short work of the dirty buckets. The after training session was short. Thankfully there were no problems to discuss. Records were filled out in record time.

"Dakota, if you would like to start the tour for Haldir and Legolas," Brain started, not even looking up from his file. Legolas! That was his name. It was just as strange as Haldir. Maybe it was a cultural thing? Like Snookie. "Tyler and I can station keep with otters. Just make sure you are at seals for the start of session. Samson is still getting eye drops."

"Understood. See you in two hours then." I dropped off Zeus' file in the cabinet and bounded to the door. "Shall we then?" I asked my guests, opening to the door.

We walked in near awkward silence to the main viewing area of the exhibits. I was supposed to be telling them about the inner workings of the zoo, and useless facts about random exhibits. But, for some reason I couldn't bring myself to speak. I still had that strange feeling. Only now I felt drawn to them, like I they were old friends I hadn't seen for years.

"How long have you been working here?" Haldri broke the silence. I was thankful he did, I don't think I would have been able to.

"I've been here for two years now." I smiled, "Though, some days it feels like its been much longer."

"Have you always worked with animals?" He asked again. What was this? Twenty questions? I was supposed to be telling them about the animals, and they were supposed to ask questions about the animals or the zoo. Not me.

"Yes," I said simply. I had hoped that would be enough to satisfy his curiosity. Apparently not, he looked at me as if he was waiting for me to continue on. Fine, if its what he wants. "I wanted to work with animals, specifically killer whales, since I was three. Everything I have done in my life, up to this point, has been to achieve that goal. So here I am." I gestured to the exhibits around me. "I may not have killer whales to work with, but I love my job." They didn't need to know that I preferred animals to people.

"You must be very dedicated to have achieved your dreams at such a young age." Legolas commented.

"People always tell me that, but I disagree. I just know what I want out of life and am willing to do what it takes to get what I want." I informed them. "So, lets get this tour started shall we?" I changed subjects as we arrived at the zoo's public entrance.

Directing my attention to the first group of exhibits, the great cats, I began to spew random facts. I had always been kind of a nerd. I had been teased in grade school for watching nature documentaries instead of cartoons. Don't get me wrong I watched cartoons. What kid didn't? But if given the choice between the hunting characteristics of the spotted eagle ray and Ed, Edd, and Eddy I would pick the eagle ray. Every time. Its funny though, now everyone seems to be watching nature documentaries.

We made our way through the zoo, perfectly on schedule to be at seals in half an hour. Haldir asked several questions about the giraffes, while Legolas seemed to be more interested in birds of prey. I was happy that they were focusing on the animals and were no longer asking about me. I just wasn't used to guests focusing on me personally. Usually any 'personal' questions I got were about where I went to school, what I studied, and how I worked to get my job. Typically it was children asking me these things. I'm pretty sure that since Free Willy and Flipper came out that every child has wanted to be a dolphin trainer at some point.

We made it to the seals exhibit a few minutes before Brain had wanted us there so we sat on one of the benches and watched the seals swimming around. I was in the middle of naming the seals when Haldir started with his questions again.

"Do you still live with your mother?"

That question through me back a bit. What had brought that on? Maybe I had let slip at some point that I made just over minimum wage? "No, she died while I was at university." I answered only to be polite. I could just sense him about to ask another question and beat him to the punch. "I don't live with my father either, he left when I was little. I am fully capable of taking care of myself."

"I was not going to inquire to that," his smile was sad, "I was going to offer my condolences for your loss." That was kind of him. I was very uncomfortable with this conversation. I had been close to my mom and was devastated when she lost her battle with breast cancer. "Though I do wonder why you speak so venomously of your father."

"I never knew him. He made sure of that since he didn't stick around after I was born." Where was Brian? This session needed to start. I needed to make Tyler do the rest of this program. I was not in the mood for this.

"What if he tried to find you?" Legolas broke his silence and voiced his opinion. "Wouldn't you be happy to have family once again?"

"I would tell him to stop trying. I don't need him. When I needed a father he was no where to be found. I'm grown up now." I'm pretty sure that came out harsher than I meant. But, this was a personal matter and no business of theirs and it was time to end it. "Now, this matter is none of your business. I appreciate concern, but this is not appropriate for discussion between strangers."

"Forgive me," Haldir brought his hand to his heart. "I meant not offense, I am simply curious of your past."

Who the hell speaks like this? More importantly who the hell cares this much about someone they've only known for a few hours? I made no attempt to hide my unease. Thankfully I saw Brian and Tyler with the buckets. I was saved!

"Its time fore a seal session!" I popped up from the bench. My mood instantly brightened. Before I could get more than a few steps away a hand pulled at my wrist.

"We did not mean to pry" Legolas told me, his voice soft and low. I found myself trapped in his eyes.

"Oi! Dakota, you ready?" Tyler's obnoxiously loud voice broke my trance.

"We're on our way!" I called back to him, taking about five steps away from Legolas and his magic eyes. "Its alright. But I would prefer to not discuss my personal life from this point."

I felt rather proud of myself. I was able to make my point, without being a bitch, and I didn't get trapped in those beautiful eyes again. Maybe I would be able to survive the rest of the day after all.

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Thank you for your reviews!

Shadowsammy I hope this answered your question. Although you would be correct if you were to point out that killer whales are in fact dolphins. (I would then point out that they are all in the family of cetaceans… But I think that's getting a bit too technical) I will say, though, that I am not Dakota.

Eva Sirico I'm glad you liked it! I too am annoyed at how the OC is instantly put into the plot and we know nothing about her.

Wolfie-chanLovesAnime I won't give away too much, but I tried to leave subtle hints. If you all don't get them all will become clear soon!

Meriland25 I'm glad you like it thus far! I just had this story bouncing around in my head for a while. I'm really glad someone else likes it.


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